Time Magazine 2015 Annual Report Download - page 12

Last month, we debuted Batman v Superman: Dawn
of Justice, a prime example of a strategy that has
made intellectual property from DC Entertainment
a cornerstone of our eorts across film, TV, digital,
videogames, consumer products (and yes, comic
books). We also just saw a frenzy among fans for the
biggest original program in HBO’s history, Game of
Thrones, which returned for its sixth season. At Turner,
we raised our game with the first-ever crowning of
the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship
title on cable. And CNN reported its highest quarterly
viewership among total day audiences in seven years,
while its Race for the White House had the most-
watched premiere of a CNN original series ever.
These examples reflect the strategy we’ve
spent several years honing — and it all begins with
our increasing investment in the world’s best and
most engaging video content. This year’s Annual
Report illustrates the breadth of what we produce and
deliver today across a plethora of themes, genres,
and platforms. Our company has a proud legacy
going back nearly a century, and we’ve deliberately
reshaped it to use our global scale and leading brands
to deliver great content to audiences wherever and
however they look for it. As a result, we remain in a
strong position to capitalize on the growing appetite
all over the world for the very best video content
at a time when audiences are swiftly embracing
on-demand consumption.
Each of our divisions – Warner Bros., Home
Box Oce, and Turner – is an industry leader, and
their combined strength, scale and capabilities are
critical to our ability to capitalize on the growth
opportunities we’re seeing. This combined strength
drove our success in 2015, a year in which Time
Warner’s total revenues increased 3% to $28.1
billion, adjusted operating income grew 19% to $6.9
billion, and adjusted earnings per share grew 14% to
$4.75 a share.
During 2015, we invested around $11.5 billion
in compelling content and also returned close to
$5 billion to shareholders in share repurchases and
dividends, underscoring our commitment to balanced
and disciplined capital allocation. In 2016, we announced
an updated $5 billion share repurchase program and
increased our dividend by 15% – the seventh straight
year of double-digit increases. In fact, over the eight
years ending with 2015, the Company delivered a total
return to shareholders of over 140% – far outpacing
the S&P 500.
The benefits of our strategy and the advantages
of our scale and structure were evident in our many
successes in 2015. For example, audiences at
Turner’s networks were younger and Turner was the
only programming group with three of the top-10
ad-supported cable networks in primetime among
adults 18 to 49, with TBS finishing 2015 as the #1 ad-
supported entertainment cable network in primetime
for that demographic for the third consecutive year. Our
operating momentum was particularly strong at CNN
and Cartoon Network. In 2015, CNN grew primetime
ratings by 29% in its key demographic, and Cartoon
Network was the only top three kids’ network to grow
ratings. Turner is looking to strengthen its position
further in 2016 and beyond, anchored by bold refreshes
of the TBS and TNT original content lineups and the
launch of its new eSports league in partnership with
WME|IMG.
As this letter goes to press, Time Warner is coming o not just a strong
year in 2015 but a start to 2016 that really shined a light on what our
company stands for: an unmatched ability to create and showcase
brands and content that forge deep – even emotional – connections
with audiences across all platforms around the world.
A Message from the
Chairman and CEO
10